CENTURY WILSHIRE

Called by a reviewer a hidden European style treasure, the Century Wilshire Hotel on Wilshire Boulevard in affluent Westwood is close to UCLA, Westwood Village's shops, theaters and restaurants, and Beverly Hills. What's more, guests are six to 14 miles from Sunset Strip's boisterous and celebrity drawing bars, Hollywood, Santa Monica Beach, Universal Studio and downtown L.A. Los Angeles International Airport is only 11 miles away, and kids won't mind the 37 mile hike to Disneyland. Once an apartment building, this three story, European style hotel offers residential style public areas, including an antique filled lobby and garden courtyard with fruit trees, rose bushes, wicker chairs and settees. Each morning, guests can make bee lines to a sunny room next to the garden for complimentary continental breakfasts, then swim in the outdoor pool and loll in the chaise lounges or at umbrella shaded tables. The Los Angeles hotel skips having its own restaurant, but guests can find plenty of dining options in Westwood Village and other parts of the city. The Century Wilshire also provides a business center with Internet access. Hotel accommodations include 99 guestrooms with traditional furnishings, lace curtains, ceiling fans, Venetian blinds, floral bedspreads, windows that open, and city or pool views. The 1950s style bathrooms feature original tiles, stall showers and frosted glass windows. Sharing famous Wilshire Boulevard with older apartment buildings and contemporary high rises, this white hotel with bright blue awnings is popular for families and visitors to UCLA and travelers to Southern California who seek a Los Angeles hotel unlike any other.